Packaging, shipping and handling fresh produce from the packing facility to the final point of sale, such as a supermarket, convenience store or produce market, requires a wide variety of containers and packaging materials designed to protect the merchandise and to allow marketing of the merchandise by size, grade and variety. Most of these containers are of a "bushel" size, weighing from 30 to 60 pounds, which can be hand-carried by an individual. Unfortunately, this variety of packaging materials is costly in terms of labor and materials, resulting in a reduced net profit to the grower of the merchandise.
To reduce the packaging and handling costs associated with "bushel" size containers, the fresh produce industry is now employing bulk packaging. The most common form of bulk packaging presently being used for the shipping of produce is the tote bin which comprises a corrugated paper container adapted to contain600 pounds or more of produce. These tote bin containers may be randomly hand-packed with individual pieces of produce, or may be filled with bags of produce, or with layers of tray packed produce such as apples, pears, and the like. The tote bins are usually placed on shipping pallets adapted to be handled by fork lifts or pallet jacks and positioned in a display area of a store.
While these tote bins have been satisfactory for reducing the shipping and handling costs, and the quantity of packaging materials wasted by the conventional "bushel" sized containers, the produce in the bin in the display area at the final point of sale have experienced excess spoilage due to inadequate, or the complete lack of, cooling the bin in the display area.
Another disadvantage in the conventional tote bin produce containers is the difficulty experienced by a shopper reaching into the bottom of the bin to select a certain piece of produce.